Wildschut adapting to Joyce's new methods

With the luxury of a rare weekend off, Wildschut and his colleagues have been getting to grips with the methods of new boss Warren Joyce behind closed doors at Euxton.

And the flying Dutchman admits the ex-Manchester United Under-21 boss has already made his mark in terms of increased physical demands.

“As far as fitness is concerned, it’s always good to be fitter,” Wildschut told the Evening Post.

“When you have quality that we have in the squad, and you can also run opponents off the park, then you’re in a good position.

“It’s a different style of training and style of play than we did with the old manager - especially with the pressing - and we have to get used to that and see what happens.”

While Latics have had an extra week to stew over the dismal 3-0 home defeat to Reading, Wildschut says they can make the gap in the fixture list work to their advantage.

“As players of course you want to play every single week, but a break is nice especially over a long season,” he added.

“It means we can work hard on the training ground, work on what we have to improve on and make sure we’re ready for the next game.

“The mood in the camp is still good despite losing to Reading.

“We know we are playing well most of the time, it’s just making sure we pick up results more of the time.

“If we can do that, we’ll be okay.”

The last few weeks have certainly been eventful for Wildschut, who recently became a dad for the first time.

“It was a life-changing moment, and it costs me a few hours of sleep every night,” he smiled.

“But it does give you a little extra when you go out there on the pitch, you can’t really describe it.

“You are playing for someone else, and then coming home and seeing someone who looks just like you.

“It’s crazy, but also really nice, and I’m enjoying every moment.”